AR Notes/S08
The party, having arrived in Vendra City, has met Astrid Stonefoot and gone on a mission for her - to find out what happened to the Countess Carlotta von List. The party should be steering themselves towards uncovering more information about Taldric Greymane and his motives in acquiring the land. Greymane himself has managed to avoid assassination attempts for a while, and is currently traveling to his family's estate in Belruuth, hoping to be safer there. His accomplice, Daunna Vathuna, is also going to ground, making preparations to get Shadowside. Vendra City Pathias Pathias has been awaiting the party with some anxiety. He is not serving the interests of the Empire, which as of yet does not know that Pathias and these travelers are connected, nor that the party carry with them the pyramids. Last session Pathias revealed his presence in the city to the party, warning them to be careful of their movements. Stonefoot Stonefoot's motives are of self-profit, self-preservation, and a sense of motherly love for Zoraxane. Stonefoot will not freely offer money or aid, but could be persuaded to lend some minor support because of this bond. If she believes Zora will die without her aid, Stonefoot will provide whatever aid she can. Mission Stonefoot will want the party's help as payment for helping them. Countess Carlotta von List has gone missing, apparently on vacation, but in Stonefoot's opinion this is unlike her and too sudden. She is the owner of a quarter of the wharfs in the harbor, and quite wealthy. (She has also been a valuable contact in the past for Stonefoot.) In her absence, a new wharfmaster named Hallas has taken over administration of those wharfs, one which is not friendly to Stonefoot's advances. Reports say that he is a half-elf, a rare and unwelcome face in these parts. However the two agents Stonefoot sent after Hallas have returned reporting that nothing was wrong. Stonefoot doesn't trust these results. She wants the party to figure out why it is that Hallas is really there, and what he's doing to divert attention from himself. If possible, locate Carlotta as well. *Carlotta has been taken by a group of doppelgangers, and they are attempting to impersonate her. She is resisting their attempts to read her mind with more success than they had believed. *Hallas is a doppelganger as well, and has charmed or replaced Stonefoot's two agents with other members of the group. *The doppelgangers are intending to create a profitable situation - they wished to make money and a secure living. They were given this opportunity to infiltrate by the VERY secretive thieves' guild in Vendra City known as the Moonsisters, who mostly operate Shadowside and also have ties to House Vathuna. The payment asked was that they send one member of their family to them to serve them, and that they grant the guild access to a magical copy of the dock ledgers that would copy word for word everything written in the original (an ingenious spy device). *This ledger is kept in a lead-lined box in the desk. The Sewers Some of the players will already have a map of the Vendra City sewers. This will allow them to make Survival checks at advantage and lower the DC of the checks. Possible Encounters: *2x Cranium Rat Swarm *Gargantuan Rat Swarm (3 skill checks to avoid or drive away, deals 1d10+5 damage each round) *Deluge (DC 15 STR save, or other relevant check) *Rat nest (AC 10, HP 20, rats attack when creature approaches or hits, +5/1d4+4) *Cesspit (DC 8 CON save or be Poisoned for 30 minutes) Encounter Category:AR Notes